From awareness to perceived savings: the role of consumer understanding in vehicle-to-grid benefit expectations

Vehicle-to-grid (V2G) has been widely promoted as a mechanism for integrating electric vehicles (EVs) into electricity markets by enabling bidirectional energy flows. While much of the existing literature focuses on technical feasibility and system-level value, comparatively less attention has been paid to how EV owners perceive the private financial benefits associated with participation. This study examines how awareness and conceptual understanding of V2G are associated with EV owners’ subjective perceptions of annual electricity bill savings. Using data from a nationwide survey of 1,794 Australian EV owners, we distinguish between awareness of V2G and correct conceptualisation of the technology. We estimate a sample-selection endogenous ordered probit model that jointly accounts for awareness and potential endogeneity in correct understanding when modelling perceived savings. Results indicate that awareness and understanding are distinct phenomena and that, after accounting for awareness and shared unobserved factors, correct conceptualisation remains strongly associated with a higher propensity to report larger perceived savings. Approximate midpoint-based summaries of the predicted ordinal distributions suggest higher perceived annual savings among respondents who correctly define V2G. At the same time, overall perceived savings remain modest, with most EV owners selecting categories consistent with incremental rather than substantial bill reductions. Significant heterogeneity emerges across segments, particularly by solar panel ownership, battery storage ownership, home charging access, and age. The findings suggest that informational frictions, subjective beliefs and incomplete understanding may shape perceived private benefits of V2G, which are likely to be relevant for future participation decisions, even in a context characterised by high residential solar uptake and widespread home charging. From a policy perspective, the results underscore the importance of clear communication, contract transparency, and targeted program design that accounts for heterogeneity across user segments in scaling V2G participation. Integrating behavioural insight into energy–transport policy may therefore be critical to realising the flexibility potential of electrified mobility.